I don't own anything. All characters and all rights belong to Natsume Akatsuki*

M for mature topics. No children allowed. *

Konosuba (Not): Thanatos Blessing Upon This Broken World

By Try Another Time

"Kazuma…."

The reaper fell as if he was descending into an abyss. He felt no pain as he sank deeper into the darkness.

"Kazuma…."

He felt so tired and drained after so many waves. His body had endured so many injuries for so many days that giving up seemed like the right choice. He was tired, and he couldn't deny it.

"Kazuma…."

It felt so easy just to give up.

"Kazuma…"

Yet he couldn't.

"Kazuma…"

He had a mission.

"Kazuma…"

He promised to fight and he was the type of man to keep his promises.

"Kazuma!"

With one last call, the reaper opened his eyes as his body reacted to his undying will. His body aches as the strain of the healing process returns, yet he pushes it away. His eyes looked around as he tried to analyze the situation they found themselves in.

"Kazuma, get up. We need you." Yunyun shouted as she flew at full speed while a monstrous golden eagle chased after her.

The beast was comparable in size to the behemoth while possessing six sharp wings, two sharp talons that seemed to pulse with raw electricity, and a speed that pushed Yunyun to the limit as it kept chasing after her.

The reaper's mind took just a second to connect the dots before he sat up within the arms of the headless torso. "Do you have my scythe?"

The torso presented the scythe to him with one of its multiple arms. Although it lacked a head, the motions it made with its hand assured Kazuma of its goodwill towards him.

The reaper retrieves his weapon. "Thanks for everything." The summon starts to vanish as its job comes to an end. A final thumbs up assures Kazuma that his body is in top shape, although the pain remains.

Kazuma begins to fall as the summon vanishes. He spreads his wings and flies at full speed to attract the new monster's attention towards himself. "If you want someone to chase around, I'm right here!" The reaper shouts as he fires several tiny dark scythes against the golden bird.

The Golden Eagle starts to use evasive maneuvers as its eyes glare at the reaper for daring to interfere with its hunt. Electricity emanates from its body as it tries to create a barrier, but the scythes pierce through it, forcing the bird to continue to evade.

"What happened while I was passed out?" Kazuma asked as he joined Yunyun.

"Darkness is still dealing with the Behemoth. She has cut several of its horns, but the beast is still running wild. We're close to killing it, but this Thunder Eagle showed up, and its presence prevented me from supporting the rest of the team. Megumin explosive spells aren't doing a good job against the Behemoth." Yunyun says as she finally gets away from the bird, whose eyes glare at both of them while it tries to evade the continuous assault from the dark scythes.

"I see. I'm taking over then. Will Megumin spells work on this eagle?" Kazuma asks as he starts to analyze the weak points of the Thunder Eagle.

"Maybe, but the problem is accuracy. The Thunder Eagle won't stop moving, which can make hitting it with any spells almost impossible." Yunyun says.

"I'll make it happen. Go and take care of the Behemoth. Keep Aqua with you and send Megumin to support me. We'll manage until the Behemoth goes down." The reaper says as he quickly looks down only to witness the tense fight on the surface. "Go now before Darkness loses that fight. I'll be alright."

Yunyun nods. "Thanks, just be careful. That thing is much harder than what you think."

"I know. My eyes aren't giving me any weaknesses. This monster won't be easy, but I'll face the challenge. Go, time is not on our side. Each second counts." The reaper says.

"Got it." Yunyun descends to the floor without another word, but her eyes remain focused on him. "Be careful. We still have several waves left. We need you."

The Thunder Bird watched as its prey got away before its bloody yellow eyes turned to Kazuma.

"I'm sorry, but you'll need to go through me if you want any of them. My teammates won't fall to any of you beasts as long as I can fight. Let's dance, golden thunder chicken!" The reaper says as he goes on the offensive.

The Thunder Eagle releases a high-pitched cry filled with anger as it releases electric projectiles that target Kazuma. Said projectiles were its own feathers, which seemed like deadly electric blades capable of piercing the strongest shields.

The reaper doesn't seem up for the idea of testing the strength of such projectiles. He evades each one with precise, sharp movements as he tries to get close to his target. "Hey, why are you running? You were ready to capture Yunyun not long ago. That means that you're not afraid of getting your hands dirty, golden chicken! Face me like you did with her."

The eagle looks angry as it listens to Kazuma's words, yet it doesn't fall in for the trap as it keeps a safe distance while Kazuma tries to close the distance. Its attacks are numerous, and although Kazuma is evading them, the restless assault keeps him from delivering a decisive blow.

"Damn it. I can't get close to it." His eyes glared at the eagle.

But then, a flaming projectile hits the eagle's backside before it implodes. The eagle cries in pain, although the damage is not severe. Its body started to glow as its eyes glared at Megumin.

"You enjoyed chasing Yunyun around for quite some time, but now is the time for payback," Megumin said as she pointed her weapon at the monster. "Kazuma, glad to have you back. Are your injuries completely healed?"

"I'm alright." His eyes glance at the timer for a quick second. "3 minutes and 23 seconds. We have to slay this beast before then, or we'll have three beasts instead of two."

Megumin smirks. "Don't worry about the Behemoth. Darkness will finish it at any time now."

Darkness POV.

The rampaging beast had lost three of its horns after her constant attacks. Now, its magic had been weakened to the point that it was just a nuisance instead of a deadly ability. But that didn't take away from its lethality as a beast that threatened everyone in the team.

"Neither of us can continue like this for much longer. Come, let's finish this now." Darkness prepared herself for the next tackle as the Behemoth bore its tusks while huffing like a mad beast. Her armor showed several cracks; the left side of her face was covered with dry blood while her chest cavity ached due to a few broken ribs. Yet this didn't stop her, as Darkness was determined to achieve victory.

The Behemoth's outer armor was in not better condition. It showed multiple cracks and broken pieces as the ice attacks weakened its defenses. It was just a matter of time before the beast fell to another critical attack, but that didn't mean it was going down without a fight.

The beast charged forward with impressive speed as it sought to crush Darkness with its remaining strength.

Darkness saw it coming, but she wouldn't try to evade it this time. As her axe changed into its defensive form, Darkness held her ground as she lifted her shield and faced the inhuman strength behind the tackle.

As soon as the head of the Behemoth made contact with the shield, Darkness's body was pushed back several meters while her feet buried themselves into the ground beneath, yet she didn't give up. The fallen knight continued to hold her ground until the Behemoth couldn't push her anymore.

"Run out of energy? It's my time to fight back then!" Darkness shouted as she used her shield to strike the head of the Behemoth back, which pushed it back before she continued with another strike to the left side of its face.

The beast cries in pain as one of its eyes bursts open due to the strength of the impact.

"I'm not done." Darkness changes the shape of her weapon before she goes on the offensive against the beast. Sharp, deep cuts start to cover the face of the Behemoth as Darkness doesn't waste the opportunity. Yet none of this is enough to kill the beast.

The Behemoth grows even more angry as it tries to turn its body around to kick Darkness with its back legs, but suddenly, it finds it impossible. Large chunks of ice started covering the back of its body until the beast couldn't move another inch. The beast tried its hardest to escape, but nothing could be done.

"You might have had a way to escape before, but now you lack the strength or magic to escape. Finish it, Darkness! Go for the nape; it should be ready." Yunyun shouted as she levitated on top of the Behemoth.

The blades of the battle axe started to glow with a chilly aura. Darkness grins as she jumps on top of the Behemoth's back before she aims her final attack at the nape of the beast. The nape of the Behemoth had lost its natural armor after constant magic attacks that impacted the area with deadly precision.

"This is the end!" Darkness buries her axe into the nape of the beast. As soon as the bladed weapon hits the flesh beneath, the icy aura spreads across the flesh with deadly intent.

The behemoth cries as the connection between its brain and the rest of the body is weakened due to its nerves being frozen. The ice continues to spread until the entire neck of the beast is nothing more than an icy piece of meat ready for the final blow.

Darkness pushed the axe down with all her strength until the shattering sound of ice reached her ears. The head of the Behemoth falls onto the floor as its eyes lose their glow. Darkness jumps down from the decapitated body before she drops to her knees. "Aqua!, I need healing. Goddess Eris….. My chest is killing me."

Aqua, who was watching the fight from a safe distance, rushes in. "Amazing job, Darkness. I didn't think you'd have it on you block a full tackle from the Behemoth." The dark priestess wastes no time as she summons the torso, which jumps into action as its hands penetrate the armor as if they were the hands of a ghost.

Darkness shakes her head. "It was weakened after our constant attacks. The spells did most of the job to bring its defenses down. I only baited its attention and took care of its horns. If the situation had been different, I would have died with a single tackle."

Yunyun approaches the duo while she continues to levitate. "Focus on healing her. We still have the Thunder Bird."

The trio turns their eyes to the fight taking place above. Kazuma kept evading the constant attacks of not one but two Thunder Birds now instead of one, while Megumin fired her spells when she saw a chance while maintaining a safe distance as one wrong move could put her at the mercy of one of the birds.

"It can create copies? I don't recall any Thunder Bird like that." Darkness admits as she recalls her past experiences.

"The dungeon is cheating again. It's likely growing desperate as we keep pushing against whatever is thrown at us. I doubt the copy is perfect. Those monsters that can do this have a limited time for their copies, and the copies will have some kind of imperfection, which can be physical or in terms of power. I'll support them, but you two must be ready to act as soon as the next wave starts. Be careful." Yunyun says as she flies away.

Aqua sighs. "We have four waves left, but this doesn't get any easier. Any idea what the next wave could be?"

Darkness shakes her head. "I don't know, but I'm hoping the remaining waves have nothing humanoid. Humanoid monsters are troublesome because they fit so many abilities into such small and agile bodies."

"Humanoid as in vam-" Darkness stops Aqua from finishing the sentence as she covers her mouth.

"Don't. We haven't seen one yet, and I want to keep it that way. I prefer a damn dragon instead of those." Darkness expression doesn't hide her disgust at the mysterious creature that must not be named.

Aqua removes the hand. "Alright, I get it, but please, don't let it be a dragon. That is something that neither of us wants to face. I fear the dungeon's final boss might be one of those, and I want to avoid having us face it. If the dungeon has cheated with lower-ranked monsters, I don't want to imagine what it could create with a dragon."

The duo felt a cold sensation running down their backs as they tried to imagine what kind of dragon could be created by the dungeon.

"... Let's try to get out before then. I fear my shield won't be enough to face that kind of challenge at my level." Darkness admits before her eyes glance at the timer. "Shit, we have 1 minute and 40 seconds left. Can they finish the Thunder Bird on time?"

The duo glances at the fight. Kazuma had finally broken through the constant attacks of the "real" Thunder Bird. His scythe is covered by an amber glow, which signifies its ground attribute, the weakness of the beast. The reaper goes all out as his scythe dances while delivering attack after attack with little to no time for the Thunder Bird to counter.

The spell casters support him as they distract the copy with their splendid teamwork. While one baits its attention, the other uses its spell to attack the blind spots of the beast. Neither seemed to miss their timing, as they didn't allow the beast to capture their partner.

"They really know what they're doing. How many challenges did they face to reach a point where they could move and act with such coordination? Sometimes they don't even speak." Aqua asked as she observed the coordination of the spell casters.

"Enough to the point where many teams wanted to recruit them, but none could keep them due to obvious issues. Our world is filled with challenges, and our generation faces the hardest yet. Monsters are much more challenging; most adventurer teams last for short periods, and the constant threat of demons adds even more challenges to the pot. We're risking everything in this uphill battle for survival, but people like Megumin, Yunyun, and me keep pushing on because we have hope. We haven't lost hope for a better tomorrow, and with the arrival of you and Kazuma, we might finally have a fighting chance against some of those challenges." Darkness looks towards the distance as she recalls all the people she has lost. "I want to believe that Goddess Eris hasn't abandoned us. Even after losing so much, I still believe that Eris still cares for us and has sent us a final blessing that can turn things around for us."

Aqua remained in silence as she listened to Darkness's words. "... Has Eris achieved what I couldn't do after so long?... Does anyone still believe in me?" Her chest ached as she felt the lack of believers in her.

Their conversation was cut short as, with a final cry, both Thunder Birds fell to the surface with not even a drop of life in their lifeless eyes as they crashed into the ground.

The timer resets once more as the seventh wave begins. A new monster arrives, but this one is not like the others. It lunges forward at full speed with deadly intent, seeking one single target: Aqua.

The beast ignores Darkness as she's unable to move due to her injuries, and its red crimson eyes remain focused on its target.

The goddess's eyes panic as the beast goes for the kill with its sharp-bladed left arm. "Someone save me!"

But at the last moment, someone rushes in to block the attack. Metal crashes against metal as the scythe of the reaper blocks the attack.

Kazuma stands in between the new monster and Aqua. A cold expression covers his face as he faces the beast. "You made a wrong choice for daring to attack, Aqua."

The monster glares back before it dashes away to create distance between itself and the reaper. Its body is at least 7 feet tall, with reddish scales and fur covering it. A long marsupial tail stretches from its lower half while its face resembles a demonic baboon.

"A Nightmare Goliath. We hit the jackpot in terms of tricky monsters to face. I thought they were just myths based on how the books about monsters described them." Yunyun says as she descends to the floor.

"This dungeon seems to like to bring myths into reality. We're facing unknown territory with this one." Megumin adds as she joins the rest.

"Aqua, are you alright?" Kazuma asks without taking his eyes away from the Goliath.

"... Yes…" Aqua answers as she breathes in relief.

"Good. Keep your eyes open, and don't be afraid. I will keep you safe as long as I'm by your side." The reaper says with a determined voice that lacks fear or doubt.

Aqua nods as the pain in her chest disappears. "I still have him. I have Kazuma."

"Darkness, focus on healing yourself. I will take the lead against this Goliath. After you're healed, stay with Aqua. This Goliath seems to be smart enough to target the healer of our team before anyone else." Kazuma says.

"I understand. Be careful. Is faster than any other creature I have faced." Darkness admits as she examines the Goliath.

"Fast or no." Kazuma rushes with extreme speed.

The Goliath grins as it matches his speed. Their weapons clash against each other.

"You'll go down!" Kazuma shouts before a fast-paced engagement begins.

The monster and reaper seem to vanish from sight as they clash around the ruins of the coliseum while the rest of the team tries to follow their movements.

"That's… insane. The books talked about how they were deemed as deadly nighttime hunters capable of swiftly eliminating adventurers without giving them time to breathe, but this is on an entirely different level. I couldn't face such a beast on my own." Yunyun admits.

"Luckily for us, we have Kazuma on our side," Megumin adds as she lifts her weapon before chanting. Several small magic circles spread around the floor before they become invisible.

"What are you doing?" Darkness asks.

"Mines. I can't follow its movements, but it has to stop at some point. And when it does." Megumin looks around until the Nightmare Goliath finally breaks off from his fight with Kazuma. Its eyes turned to Aqua as if it hadn't given up, but before it could move, the magic circle beneath its feet ignited, causing an explosion that damaged its body. "See? It wants to play, and we'll give it exactly what it wants."

Her tone was cold as it sought to challenge the Goliath, but the beast didn't have time to glare at the spell caster as Kazuma was right behind him with his scythe ready for a swift decapitation.

The beast felt the cold embrace of death around its neck before using its impressive speed to escape from its opponent. As its eyes met those of Kazuma, it witnessed the dark void they had become.

"Death will embrace thee."

"Allow your life to come to an end."

"The emissary of Thanatos shall claim thy life."

Cold, ghostly voices seemed to be whispering directly into its mind.

The eyes of the Nightmare Goliath turned to the scythe that rested on Kazuma's hands as its instincts went into full overdrive. An invisible, mysterious aura emanated from the scythe's blade as it embraced its wielder, pointing its nonexistent fingers at its next target.

"Thou shall die by this blade."

Four minutes and 20 seconds remain until the next wave.